Our November General meeting marked a
momentous day for Us Too! Brampton,
as the Chapter completed 10 years of successful
operation and support to the community

The evening was full of surprises and great moments for
all members but specially for Chairman Fred Norris,
who has guided the group since its inception.

Unknown to Fred the steering committee had planned to honor him
on this historic occasion with a very special memento, reminding
him of his Lancaster Bomber days during the second world war.
And also unknown to him, Fred's daughters had been invited to
witness the proceedings.

Gerry Brunjes, our Treasurer took the floor and brought the spot light
to bear on the unsuspecting Fred in the midst of the following
powerful rhetoric, that left everyone moved and deeply touched:

(To skip directly to the part on Fred, scroll
down to the bold text)

"Mr. Chairman, Dr. Warde, Committee, Ladies and Gentlemen.
First, I wish to say thank you for your assistance in making Theatre Night last Wednesday
such a successful fund raiser.
With the generous assistance of so many of you, we added to the treasury.
And we had fun doing it, didn't we?

Good funding is vital in order for us to continuously improve the quality
of our efforts to promote PCa awareness and to help those who are stricken.
For example, we are looking to hold regular free PSA clinics in order
to bring awareness of this disease into better focus for unsuspecting men
and their families.

Also, please be aware that we will be expected to send a number of delegates
to the 2005 CPCN convention, to be held in the GTA next year, and
to be generous with our financial support of the convention.
This is because your group, Us Too! Brampton, is considered to
be one of the premiere support groups in Canada.

What we should aim to achieve in the future, will be impossible, without your help.

During the six years of my membership, I have seen our Chairman search for
volunteers among us for many endeavors, and far too often, in my opinion,
it's been like pulling hen’s teeth.

Bear with me a moment while I tell you a true story.
When I was 5 to 6 years old, the boy who lived next door to us caught
an obscure disease, which was never diagnosed. I caught it as well. He died. I didn’t.

Years later, I asked my mother, “Why did he die, while I remained alive?”
Her reply was, "Perhaps you were spared for a job you will be needed to do later in your life".
If raising 3 kids who have presented me with 9 grandchildren qualifies,
then I guess she was right. But, I'm still looking for my very special job,
70 years later. Perhaps my involvement with Us Too! Brampton is it.

I have come to believe that the secret path to a happy existence lies
in the old cliché, "Try to leave the world a little bit better off than you found it".
Don't you survivors agree that we may have been spared to put a little something
back into this existence? And I don't mean money alone; I mean effort and imagination.

"There is one very special man who has been an
inspiration for us in this regard"

His name is Fred Norris.
(Amidst much cheering and clapping Fred came over, and was seated facing the members)

Fred was born in Canada and moved with his parents to England when
he was seven years old. My math tells me that would be about 1932.

He was evacuated from London when war broke out,
and spent his mid teen years in Devonshire.

At 17, in the middle of the war, he volunteered for service
in the RAF, and became a flight engineer.

He was obliged to put his life on the line many times, flying bombing
missions over enemy territory and being shot at by anti aircraft
guns and enemy fighter planes. Fred flew these missions in Lancaster
bombers. You may have seen these amazing aircraft in the movie
"The Dam Busters".

As you can imagine, just getting off the runway in an aircraft
loaded with 20,000 plus lbs of high explosives was hazardous.
And he survived 33 such takeoffs and landings while
so many of his friends, acquaintances and fellow airmen did not.

How lucky we are. Here ladies and gentlemen, in our midst,
is a real live hero in the fight for freedom.

Now... You may or may not know that tonight is the 10th.
Anniversary of the first meeting of the Brampton US Too! group.

Your committee decided, on the membership's behalf, to honour
the man who has guided this group through its entire life span.

You see, after 33 missions over enemy territory, Fred learned
something...he was allowed to live doing a job where many have
died, and as a result, he works selflessly to leave the world a
bit better off than he found it.

On the occasion of this tenth anniversary, we have a gift for you
Fred, from YOUR very grateful support group.

Please accept this gift as a token of our sincere gratitude for a job well done!

(At this point, a beautifully framed print of a Lancaster bomber was unveiled behind Fred)

The inscription reads ......

‘Presented November 9th 2004 to Fred Norris
by Us Too! Brampton,
In gratitude for 10 years of leadership through
countless circuits and bumps'.

"Outbound Lancaster crossing the East Coast."

A short power point presentation then followed, with a Lancaster
control panel, pictures and Lancaster sounds.

Portrayed above are many of the pictures that capture the mood and
moments of the historic day.
__________________________________________________________________

Dr. Evans' letter to Us Too! Brampton.

A congratulatory message was also received on this occasion from Dr. Evans.
It was read out at the meeting by Fred and appears below for those interested:

Please accept my hearty congratulations to the Brampton US Too group.
Even I find it hard to believe you have been going for ten years already.

I know from my contact with the group and now from my inside source how
the group has helped so many individuals and couples deal with the devastating
news of a malignancy which will affect the couple in ways they never thought about.

As with most “problems” in life, the understanding of the exact meaning of the
disease in this case is paramount. This will enable the patient and his partner to be
able to make logical decisions about their options of treatment. I certainly felt that the

Urologists discussion of the disease is often too much to understand in a couple of
sittings, a significant help is talking face to face with “survivors” who understand what
the individual and the partner is going through and is able to speak to them at their own
level and help them through the masses of information they have to take in to
make their decision on which treatment.

The group has done this at least with the couples who came to the sessions,
(as I did suggest it to all patients I saw) and most were helped on their
way along the decision process. Some individuals felt they preferred to do it
alone but that was their choice and you cannot make a choice
if you do not know and understand your options properly.

Again please pass on my congratulations to all the executive and members I’m proud
to have had a small association with the group and Tillie always keeps me up to date.
I realise from your bulletins you continue the high level of education of the members
by the speakers you have coming to talk and this has been constant over the ten years.
So please keep the tradition going"

David H. Evans
dhevans@rogers.com
___________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Padraig Warde

Dr. Warde was the invited speaker on this evening and delivered a superb session that is covered seperately in a detailed section below. He congratulated Fred and the group on their achievements.

The complete Audio recording of Dr. Warde's presentation:

"Radiation Therapy for Prostate
Cancer - New Approaches"

and a secure, printer friendly, Acrobat (.pdf) version of the slides
are downloadable from the Meeting Archives section
__________________________________________________________________

"Lest We Forget" Remembrance Day, Nov 11

One of our all time best meetings came to a close with Terry Kelly's
"A Pittance of Time", a moving Remembrance Day Music Video
being played while the crowd stood in silence observance
of the upcoming Nov 11, Remembrance day.

So moved was the crowd by the power of Kelly's music that several
requests for it were received from members who were then pointed
to the relevant websites for downloads. Remembrance Day may
be over for now but the song's power and emotion remains
and it is worth listening.

Kelly's website is:
http://www.terry-kelly.com

The music video was originally spotted and forwarded
by Jim Dorsey who saw the immense value of it to our meeting.
Thanks Jim!
________________________________________________________________________

A Bit of History about Us Too! Brampton

The following is an extract from our newsletter:

A Message from the Chair on Us Too! Brampton's Tenth Anniversary

In November of 1994, the urologists in Brampton invited all Prostate Cancer
patients along with their spouses to attend a meeting in the Brampton
Hospital Auditorium. From memory, well over 150 people responded.

The Moderator for the evening was Sandy Stevens R.N., who worked
closely with the Urologists at the Hospital. Dr. Mojtaba Beheshti gave a slide
projection of the male reproduction system explaining along the way
the significance of the prostate. A follow up speaker for the evening was Norm Oman,
a Winnipeger who formed the first prostate Support Group in Canada.

His talk, along with the questions fired at Dr. Beheshti, resulted in
30 people coming forward and expressing their desire to form this Support Group.

Initially under the leadership of Tony Parker, we struggled to reach out
and get new people to come to the meetings. Great support was forthcoming from
the Doctors who continued to update us on the disease. At one point,
two nurses, Sandy and Jackie Gray, stood alone in Bramalea City Centre
approaching people with pamphlets making them aware of the disease!

Now Ten Years down the road we are a vibrant, active group with nearly
160 members who can take pride in the knowledge that some 400 men and
their families have at one time or another received needed support from this group.

We continue to enjoy good rapport with the medical profession with updates
on new treatments and we continue to strive to make the public more
aware of this disease and of the benefits of detecting it early.

In retrospect, we have come a long way since 1994 and I am proud
that we as a group have helped so many along the way.

Chairman, Fred Norris,
(905) 877-8092
e-mail: fred.norris@ustoo-brampton.com.